Former assessor's office employee raises pay, staffing and professionalism concerns at council meeting

At the Aug. 18 Hampton County Council meeting, Loretta Hayes — who said she resigned from the county assessor’s office last Tuesday — urged the council to investigate staffing, compensation and professionalism issues she said affected her and other employees.

Hayes said the assessor’s office had been reduced from nine employees to two, requiring her to perform duties of multiple roles without compensation changes. She told the council the workload affected her health and that an initially promised hourly increase was later reduced.

“As was presented to the council by Miss Pam Rice, the office in which I was assigned was reduced from 9 employees to only 2,” Hayes said. She described working extra hours and said she developed hypertension that required medication.

Hayes asked the council to: (1) provide a fair and consistent compensation adjustment for added responsibilities, (2) consider additional staffing to create a sustainable work environment, and (3) assure transparency and accountability in compensation and supervisory decisions.

Council members asked procedural questions: whether Hayes planned to file a grievance (she said she had already resigned and a grievance is generally available only while employed) and whether she had submitted supporting documentation (she said she would provide materials to the administrator’s office).

Hayes said her aim was to bring awareness and to prevent similar problems for other employees. The council asked Hayes to provide copies of her documentation to staff for review.

No formal action was taken at the meeting; council members indicated staff would review the materials Hayes provided.